JOURNAL of Soil Biology and Ecology

The abundance of soil mesofauna in cropping and non-cropping seasons in organically cultivated fodder maize ecosystem

Authors: H.M. MAHESH AND N.G. KUMAR

Abstract:

Soil invertebrates are significant in providing ecosystem services to soils in agricultural ecosystems. The experiment was carried out to know the influence of different levels of FYM and NPK on the abundance of soil mesofauna in fodder maize crops cultivated in long-term treatment plots (thirteen years under the same set of treatments) under rainfed conditions at GKVK, Bengaluru. There were ten treatments with varying combinations of FYM and conventional fertilizers, each applied to a specific plot for thirteen years. The results revealed that the significantly higher abundance of mesofauna was more in plots treated with 20 tonnes of FYM/ha compared to other treatments during the cropping season, followed by FYM+mulch and FYM 10 t/ha treated plot. However, the least abundance of mesofauna was recorded in plots of 10 tonnes of partially decomposed FYM/ha. Soil mesofauna was more abundant 90 days after crop germination during the Kharif season. The least abundance was noticed at 225 and 240 days after germination during the summer. The variation in the abundance of soil mesofauna may be due to abundant food supply (organic matter and microbial biomass), optimum moisture and temperature in the soil

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